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Okay, so perhaps even the simple, supposedly obvious things needed an explanation. Shit. Rather than show my annoyance, I merely responded, “Good to know.”
I looked at the symbol on the steering wheel and recognized it, but only because I’d gone online to look at cars a few times in an attempt to narrow down what I might want to purchase. “Does Marco know there’s a good chance I’ll crash his shiny new Audi?”
“It isn’t new, and yes, he’s aware of the possibility. First things first, look to the left of the steering wheel. Do you see the button with the red K on it?”
“I do.”
“That’s the kill switch. If the car starts driving itself, push that button and the gas will no longer feed into the engine. You’ll need to call for a tow if you press it, so be careful not to inadvertently do so. It’s in an out-of-the-way place, not close to anything else, but still easy to reach.”
While I’d been with the shifters, they’d set up a steering wheel with gas and brake pedals that worked with a driving game, and Kelsey and I had spent hours competing with each other in the downstairs den. Surprisingly, the sexy leopard had taken me and Kelsey driving a few times, letting us both practice. Kelsey knew how to drive, but she was having to relearn how to drive on the right side of the road. He was exceedingly patient with both of us, and he had really good advice. He’d sat me in the driver’s seat and then walked around the vehicle so he barely brushed against it, and talked to me about my body being the vehicle I maneuver around this reality, and while I’m in the driver’s seat, I’m just in a bigger vehicle. He’d also given me pointers about how to press the gas and brake pedals so the vehicle took off and came to a stop smoothly. Also, the physics of how the tires and suspension system worked, and how I could best make use of them along with the steering wheel in different kinds of turns.
And so, I asked Venom to walk around this Audi while almost touching it, and afterwards, driving around the subdivision wasn’t as hard as it’d once been.
I’d never driven through the subdivision across the street from ours, but I made my way through it with Venom pointing the way, and we came out on the other side of it, which meant I had to drive on a busy-ish two-lane road with other cars in order to get back, but it wasn’t so bad.
When we returned, Venom backed it into the garage for me, his window down so he could talk me through what he was doing.
“A driver will take you to the person who’ll teach you tomorrow, since his teaching route is based around where he’s located, but I think you’ll be able to drive yourself back and forth to TBC in a week or two. It’s mostly two-lane roads getting there, without any super-complicated intersections. Four red lights, a few turns, and a train crossing. Your instructor will work with you on parking, too, and once you have that down, you should be good on side roads.”
“I almost always have a guard with me. I still don’t understand why it’s so important I learn to drive.”
Venom raised a brow, and I rolled my eyes. “Because our Master says so. Yes, I’m aware of that part of it.”
He smiled. “In this case, our Master is correct.”
After all the times Venom had offered to share Andreas with me, I was happy to have someone to offer. “Would you like to share in the bounty of my eagle with me?”
“I would very much enjoy doing so. I know you offered him for my use while you were away, but I wanted you to feast from his fear during his first time with me. I’ve made sure he’s heard from others about how painful my bite is, so he should be suitably terrified when he realizes tonight is the night he experiences it for himself.”
This was truly a gift, and I was happy to have something else in reserve to offer him. “Thank you for that. Truly. Bran Petrescu has invited me and a guest to join him for an evening of decadence in five days’ time. Would you like to accompany me?”
“It’s been more than a century since I experienced the debauched pleasures Bran can provide in his dungeons. I would be most pleased to accompany you.”
Once we were inside and on the way downstairs, he said, “I find it curious you didn’t invite the slayer. Did Bran exclude him, or are you keeping things private with your slayer?”
“We are keeping things private until we figure things out, but I’d have invited you over him even if we weren’t. It seems the slayer has morals that keep him from torturing people merely because they are slaves and one feels like having a little fun with them.”
“That’s disappointing. He seems so ruthless.”
“Oh, ruthless doesn’t begin to describe him when he feels morally right about taking the life of a monster, but he declined my invitation for an evening of torturing my eagle.” We made it into the underground, I deposited my suitcases, and we headed back up. Patience’s office was on the second floor.
“Do you have a sense of how my eagle’s training is coming along?”
“As you know, Marco works behind the scenes, which is why he can be some form of Mark in most identities.”
“Right, because Patience is the face most see.” I didn’t know if he was avoiding the question or going a round-about way of answering. Either way, I’d find out soon enough, so I didn’t ask again.
“In recent centuries, her names have been Eir, Miran, Pax, Chessa, Evania, Olive, and Grizelda. She excels at looking completely different in each identity by changing her hairstyle and the way she dresses.”
“And her makeup. I only recognized her by scent, when I saw her after the move.” I took a beat to think of the list of names. “Every one of those names means, basically, patience.”
“She’s lost her shit with your eagle a few times. I don’t think training is going exceptionally well.” Ah, so he was answering my question all along.
When we arrived in the office, my eagle was naked except for his cock cage, which was exactly how he should be when Patience didn’t have guests, but I scented pain and humiliation. Not just pain, but torturous pain. Long-lasting, sustained agony. I looked for the cause and flinched a little despite my smile, because Largo’s tongue was on a plate just to the right of his mousepad.
He saw me, stopped typing, and dropped to his knees.
Master Etta. I regret that I won’t be able to speak with you until I’m allowed to change. How can I be of service to you?
